Jewel setting machine



March 17, 1953 T. H! HARDY ET AL JEWEL SETTING MACHINE 2 SI-IEETS-SI-IEET 1 Filed NOV. 14 1950 rZkurflEw/Zarflk I March 17, 1953 T. H. HARDY ET AL JEWEL SETTING MACHINE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed NOV. 14 1950 jrzverzior's Patented Mar. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ards,

Dorchester, Mass,

assignors to The Standard Rivet Company, South Boston, Mass, a corporation of New Hampshire Application November 14, 1950, Serial No. 195,528

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for attaching ornamental jewels to leather, fabric or like sheet material, and particularly to a machine for driving through the material a multipronged setting or staple having a portion clamping the jewel to the material.

With prior apparatus the operator placed an article of leather goods, for instanc a belt, on an anvil, then according to a predetermined pattern positioned a jewel on top of the leather and actuated a stapling head to drive a staple through the leather and clinch the prongs of the staple on the under side of the leather. The staple customarily has a crown or other means for holding the jewel against the upper side of the leather. Previous methods necessitating manual positioning of the jewel have proved objectionably slow in operation, and require great skill on the part of the operator to avoid injury to himself or damage to the jewel when the staple is driven through the leather. Hitherto automatic machinery has proven unsatisfactory where it is desired to ornament variously shaped individual articles with different designs of jewels.

One object of the present inventiontherefore, is to provide a machine which will automatically position a jewel in accurate relation to the path of the staple and at the same time allow a choice in the location of the jewel relative to the leather or other workpiece. A further object is to feed the jewels automatically to the desired position, thus eliminating manual operation.

In one aspect the invention involves a jewel setting machine comprising a throat for feeding staples to the flexible material, an anvil for holding the material against one end of the throat, and a cut-away portion at the end of the throat providing a lateral entrance for a jewel into the throat, onto the material and against the side of the throat opposite the entrance, means being provided for driving a staple through the throat to the leather and for feeding jewels intermittently through the entrance and against the aforesaid opposite side of the throat so as to position them accurately in the path of the staple through the throat. It is desirable that the anvil be caused to reciprocate so that a workpiece may be laid on the anvil and thereafter moved upward against the end of the throat. Preferably the staple feeding means comprises a plunger for driving a staple downwardly through the throat onto the leather and for clinching the prongs of the staple against the anvil. In cooperation therewith actuating means are provided to operate the jewel feeding means 2 after the anvil has moved the material against the end of the throat.

For the purpose of illustration a typical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of jewel setting apparatus;

Fig. 2 is an isometric view of a jewel and setting;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a jewel stapled to a sheet of leather;

Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged side elevations of a portion of the apparatus;

Fig. 6 is a front sectional elevation like Figs. 4 and 5;

Fig. '1 is a plan view of staple and jewel feeding mechanism, parts being broken away;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the gate device of Figs. 1, 4, 5 and '6, shown removed from the apparatus and on a slightly larger scale than Fig. 7'; and

Fig. 9 is a section on line 9-9 of Fig. 7.

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate a glass jewel J and setting or staple S suitable for use in the present apparatus. The jewel J having a shoulder H is disposed on top of a sheet of leather L. The staple S having a crown C and two prongs P is then driven downward with the crown seating against the shoulder H and the prongs P penetrating the sheet of leather L. As shown in Fig. 3 the ends of the prongs P are adapted to be crimped on the other side of the leather so as to hold the jewel firmly on the leather.

In the particular embodiment chosen for the purpose of illustration the jewel setting machine comprises a framework I carrying a vertically reciprocating anvil 2, a hopper 3 holding a supply of staples, a staple guiding throat 4, a plunger 6 for driving a staple delivered from the staple hopper 3 through the guide throat 4, a hopper 1 holding a supply of jewels, and a jewel feed track 5 and slide 8 for feeding jewels from the jewel hopper I to the throat 4. A unitary staple guide structure comprising the throat 4 and a gate device F5 thereabove is supported by an arm i0 extending from the main frame I. Upwardly directed flanges 20 at each side of the forward end of the track 5 are secured to the sides of the arm I0. Fixed on the main frame I is a yoke 9 for the main shaft ll. Set on the shaft are two eccentrics i2 and I3 and a cam M. A collar I5, engaging the periphery of the anvil eccentric I2 is yieldingly connected to an arm I? through a spring 58. The spring i8 is guided on a shaft l9 which at one end is fixed to a boss 23 on the collar l6 and at its other end makes a sliding fit with a pivoted collar bearing 2!.

A head 22 at the end of rod [9 prevents the rod from disengaging from the bearing 2|, and holds the spring 18 compressed between the bearing 2| and the boss 23. The arm I! is pivoted to the main frame I at screw 24 and is pivotally connected at its forward end to a plunger 26 which carries the anvil 2 at its upper end.

At the periphery of the plunger eccentric I3 is a collar 3| connected through a rod 32 to a lever 33. The lever 33 is pivoted at pin 34 to the frame I. A slot 36 at its forward end is engaged by a pin 31 secured to a reciprocating shaft 3-8. The shaft 38 is guided in supports 39 and 4| extending forwardly from the frame I and carries at its lower end the aforementioned plunger 5.

A third lever 42 pivotally mounted by a bolt 48 to the frame I carries at its rear end a roller 43 which is held in engagement with the cam I4 by a spring 44 interconnected between the lever 42 and the yoke 9. Pivotally connected at the forward end of the lever 42 is a rod 43 having a shoulder 45. The end of the rod 43 slidingly engages a bearing 46 which is pivoted like bearing 2| to a bell crank 49. Compressed between the upper edge of the bearing and the shoulder 45 of the rod 43 is a spring 48. A head 4'! on the shaft 43, like head 22, engages the lower edge of the bearing 46. A link interconnects the bell crank 49 and a stud 50 extending upwardly from the jewel feed slide 8.

As shown in detail in Figs. 4 to '7 the jewel hopper 1 comprises a curved chute having a bottom wall Hi and side walls H spaced to hold a single row of jewels J. A top plate 12 partially covers the chute permitting observation of the supply of jewels. The hopper 1 by gravity delivers the jewels singly into a groove 52 milled in the jewel feed track 5, one side wall 53 of the track acting as a stop for the row of jewels. Reciprocating in the groove 52 at right angles to the row of jewels is the previously mentioned jewel feed slide 8 activated by the slide cam [4. On each forward stroke of the slide the lowermost jewel resting in the groove 52 is fed along the groove into the lower tip 54 of the staple guide throat 4. When the slide 8 has advanced forward of the hopper I it prevents additional jewels from entering the groove 52.- When the slide 8 is retracted as in Figs. 4 and 7 a single additional jewel enters the groove.

The staple hopper 3 comprises an upper plate 55 below which a pair of spaced under plates 5'! are supported by pins 58. The prongs P of the staple S depend through a slot 59 between the spaced under plates 51, so that the under edge of the crown C of the staple rests on the plates 51 and the prongs are aligned with the direction of staple feed.

At the lower end of the staple hopper is the staple guiding unit comprising the gate device [5 and the throat 4. The gate device it includes a block 60 which rests on the top of the main frame arm l0. Above the block 60 is an arch Bl aligned with the ends of the hopper plates 56 and 51. The arch forms an opening 62 for the crown C of the staple. In line with the slot 59 between the under plates 51 of the staple hopper is a slot 64 for the prongs of the staple allowing the staple to pass from the hopper 3 through the arch 61 onto a pair of spring urged gating plates 65. The gating plates 65 are secured above the block 50 by a face plate 66, and are urged toward each other by a leaf spring member 51. Opposed curve portions 68 of the gating plates form a support for the crown of the staple. Each plate 65 carries a pin 69 engaging in a corresponding slot T9 at the top of the block 60 which limits movement of the plates 65 so that their curved surfaces 68 form an opening slightly less in diameter than that of the crown C of the staple S.

The curved portions 68 of the gating plates 65 are disposed directly above the bore 48 of the guide throat 4 and are designed to hold the staple above the throat until the descent of the plunger 6. When the plunger 6 descends upon the crown of the staple the gating plates 615 yield sidewise allowing the staple to be driven therebetween into the throat.

As previously mentioned and as shown in Figs. 4 to 5 the movement of the anvil 2, the jewel feed slide 8 and the plunger 6 are coordinated so that the anvil 2 first raises the piece of leather L against the under side of the track 5 and under the feed throat 4. The jewel feed slide 8 then delivers the jewel J into the lower end of the throat 4, and the plunger 6 descends driving a staple S past the gating plates 65 (Fig. 5), and thereafter drives the prongs P of the staple S through the leather and against the anvil 2 clinching the prongs P against the under side of the leather L.

According to the present invention the throat 4 is supported in the gating device 15 so that its lower open end is positioned at the forward end of the track 5 and is provided with an opening 88 formed by cut-away portions of the wall of the throat. The opening is aligned with the slot 52 of the jewel feed track 5, and the lower end of the throat 4 seats in an opening 8| at the end of the groove 52 in the feed track, with the lower edge of the throat flush with the bottom of the feed track. The feed track below the groove 52 is of very narrow cross section com pared to the height of the jewel, so that when the feed slide 8 urges the jewel through the opening 86! into the lower endof the throat 4 the jewel drops a small fraction of an inch downwardly onto the leather held against the lower end of the throat. After the jewel has entered the lower end of the throat it is urged against the wall 82 of the bore 40 of the throat opposite the opening 80 and is thereby precisely positioned on the leather above the anvil in the path in which the staple S is driven downwardly by the plunger 5. Since the jewel is not delivered into the throat until the leather is held against the bottom thereof the need for manually aligning the jewel after disposition on the leather is obviated along with the hazard to the operators fingers. Furthermore the accurate positioning of the jewel in the path of the staple eliminates the possibility that the jewel will be damaged when the staple is driven through the leather. The feeding and the positioning of the jewel is thus fully automatic, and at the same time the operator may select any portion of the leather for setting the jewel by positioning that portion above the anvil 2.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. For attaching a jewel to flexible, sheet material, stapling apparatus comprising a throat for guiding a staple to the material, an anvil for holding said material against the end of the throat, the throat having a lateral opening at" one side thereof, means for feeding a jewel edgewise through said opening against the opposite side of said end of the throat whereby the jewel is positioned in the path of the staple, and means for driving the staple through the throat and setting it on the material.

2. For attaching a jewel to flexible sheet material, stapling apparatus comprising a throat for guiding a staple to the material, an anvil for holding said material against the end of the throat, the throat having a lateral opening at one side thereof, aligned with-said opening a track for guiding a jewel to the opening, means for feeding a jewel edgewise along the track and through said opening and thence against the opposite side of said end of the throat whereby the jewel is positioned in the path of the staple, and means for driving the staple through the material.

3. For attaching a jewel to flexible sheet material, stapling apparatus comprising a throat for guiding a staple to the material, an anvil for holding said material against the end of the throat, the throat having a lateral opening at one side of said end, a plate having a groove for guiding a jewel to the opening, an aperture through the plate at the end of the groove, the throat flitting in the aperture with its end flush with the under side of said plate and with its opening aligned with said groove, means for feeding a jewel edgewise along the groove through said opening and thence onto the material and against the opposite side of said end of the throat whereby the jewel is positioned in the path of the staple, and means for driving the staple through the material.

4. For attaching a jewel to flexible sheet material, stapling apparatus comprising an upright throat for guiding a staple downwardly to the material, below the throat an anvil reciprocable from a lower position in which said material may be positioned on the anvil to an upper position in which it holds said material against the end of the throat, the throat having a lateral opening at one side of said end, a plate having a groove for guiding a jewel to the opening, an aperture through the plate at the end of the groove, the throat fitting in the aperture with its end flush with the under side of said plate and with its opening aligned with said groove, means for feeding a jewel edgewise along the groove through said opening and thence onto the material and against the opposite side of said end of the throat whereby the jewel is positioned in the path of the staple, and the location of the jewel on the material may be preselected, and means for driving the staple through the material.

5. For attaching a jewel to flexible sheet material, stapling apparatus comprising a throat for guiding a staple to the material, an anvil for holding said material against the end of the throat, the throat having a lateral opening at one side of said end, a plate having a groove for guiding a jewel to the opening, an aperture through the plate at the end of the groove, the throat fitting in the aperture with its end flush with the under side of said plate and with its opening aligned with said groove, means for feeding a jewel edgewise along the groove through said opening and thence onto the material and against the opposite side of said end of the throat whereby the jewel is positioned in the path of the staple, and the location of the jewel on the material may be preselected, and means for driving the staple through the material, the thickness of the plate below the groove being substantially less than the diameter of the jewel.

6. For attaching a jewel to flexible sheet material, stapling apparatus comprising a throat for guiding a staple to the material, an anvil for holding said material against the end of the throat, the throat having a lateral opening at one side of said end, aligned with said opening a track for guiding a jewel to the opening, a hopper for feeding jewels singly to the track, means for feeding a jewel edgewise along the track and through said opening and thence onto the material and against the opposite side of said end of the throat whereby the jewel is positioned in the path of the staple, and means for driving the staple through the material.

7. For attaching a jewel to flexible sheet material, stapling apparatus comprising a throat for guiding a staple to the material, an anvil for holding said material against the end of the throat, the throat having a lateral opening at one side of said end, a plate having a groove for guiding a jewel to the opening, an aperture through the plate at the end of the groove, the throat fitting in the aperture with its end flush with the under side of said plate and with its opening aligned with said groove, a hopper for feeding jewels singly into the groove, means for feeding a jewel edgewise along the groove through said opening and thence onto the material and against the opposite side of said end of the throat whereby the jewel is positioned in the path of the staple, and means for driving the staple through the material.

THOMAS H. HARDY. ARTHUR F. RICHARDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 403,843 Junkins May 21, 1889 1,135,576 Grabau Apr. 13, 1915 1,341,821 Perri June 1, 1920 1,387,530 Wolfeld et a1 Aug. 16, 1921 1,520,013 Culotta Dec. 23, 1924 

